UK IT support is priced three ways: by the hour, by the month, or a mix of both. Ad-hoc work typically runs £75–£120 per hour. Monthly managed support runs £40–£150 per user, with most small businesses paying £60–£80. At QLine IT we charge £90 per hour + VAT with no contract, or £24 per computer per month + VAT on a full support contract with all labour included — so a five-computer business pays £120 per month and never sees an hourly invoice.
That is the short answer. The longer one is that “IT support” means very different things depending on who is quoting, and two prices £200 apart are often quoting for two different services entirely. This page explains how UK IT support is actually priced, what should be included, what quietly costs extra, and exactly what we charge — so you can compare like with like.
What QLine IT charges
We publish our prices. Most providers will not, and there is usually a reason for that.
| No contract | Monitoring contract | Full IT Support | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Nothing | £13 per computer + VAT | £24 per computer + VAT |
| Labour | £90/hr + VAT | £60/hr + VAT | Included — £0 |
| Priority response | No | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum | None | None | 5 computers |
| Remote monitoring of hardware and software | — | Yes | Yes |
| Weekly automated maintenance | — | Yes | Yes |
| Remote helpdesk | £90/hr | £60/hr | Unlimited, included |
| Security patching | £90/hr | £60/hr | Included |
| Microsoft 365 administration | £90/hr | £60/hr | Included |
| Backup and disaster recovery | £90/hr | £60/hr | Included |
| Cyber security and GDPR support | £90/hr | £60/hr | Included |
| Hardware lifecycle management | £90/hr | £60/hr | Included |
| Quarterly IT strategy review | — | — | Included |
A five-computer business on full support pays £120 per month + VAT, and that is the whole bill. No per-ticket charges, no hourly invoices, no surprises at month end.
The line most people miss is weekly automated maintenance. Every monitored machine gets maintenance routines run on it every week, without anyone raising a ticket or picking up the phone. That is the difference between a computer that quietly degrades over three years and one that still starts up properly in year four — and it is why the monitoring tier is worth having even if you rarely need to call us.
Which tier actually works out cheapest?
Worth doing the arithmetic honestly, because for most businesses the answer is not the cheapest-looking option.
Take a five-computer business. Full support costs £120 a month with no labour charges. The monitoring tier costs £65 a month (5 × £13) plus £60 an hour for any work. The difference in fixed cost is £55 a month — which buys 55 minutes of labour at the monitoring rate.
So if your five machines need more than about one hour of support a month between them, full support is already cheaper — and you are no longer choosing between fixing a problem and watching the bill.
Against no contract at all, the maths is starker. £120 a month buys 1 hour 20 minutes at our £90 ad-hoc rate. Beyond that, you are paying more for a worse service — no monitoring, no patching, no priority, and nobody catching problems before they become your problem.
That is the honest case for a contract. Not that it is cheap, but that above roughly an hour of support a month, it costs less and works better.
The five ways IT support is priced in the UK
Whoever you end up using, these are the models you will be quoted on.
1. Pay as you go (break/fix)
You call when something breaks and pay for the time. UK rates run £75–£120 per hour — ours is £90 + VAT — usually with a one-hour minimum and higher rates outside business hours.
It looks cheapest because you only pay when you need it. For anything above a handful of machines it usually is not, because nobody is preventing problems. You pay full rate for every issue, including the ones monitoring would have stopped. It also puts your provider’s interests against yours: they earn more when things break.
Sensible if you are very small, very simple, and can tolerate downtime. Not if a day offline costs you real money.
2. Block hours
You buy support time up front, typically ten or twenty hours, at a discounted rate of around £65–£95 per hour, then draw it down. Some providers expire unused hours at twelve months.
A reasonable middle ground for occasional project work. It still buys no prevention, and it creates an awkward incentive where staff avoid reporting small problems to preserve the balance. Small problems left alone become big ones.
3. Monitoring only, with discounted labour
A low monthly fee keeps eyes on your machines — typically £10–£20 per computer — with support work charged at a reduced hourly rate. Ours is £13 per computer + VAT, which covers remote monitoring of both hardware and software, weekly automated maintenance on every machine, and priority response, with labour at £60 + VAT instead of £90.
This suits businesses that rarely need hands-on help but want problems spotted early: failing drives, software going out of date, machines slowing down. You get the prevention and the priority without committing to a full contract, and you still pay less per hour when you do need us.
4. Per device, per month (all inclusive)
A fixed monthly fee per machine covering everything, with no hourly charges. UK pricing runs £20–£45 per device. Ours is £24 + VAT, minimum five computers.
This is the model we recommend for most small businesses, and it is worth understanding why it is priced per computer rather than per person. Machines are what actually need patching, monitoring and fixing. If three shift workers share one terminal, you are paying for one machine, not three — which is why this model suits care settings, children’s homes, workshops, retail and any business where kit is shared.
5. Per user, per month
The most common model among larger UK providers. A fixed fee per person — £40 to £150, most small businesses paying £60–£80 — covering that individual across laptop, desktop, mobile and mailbox.
It is predictable and scales cleanly with headcount. It is also why quotes from national providers come in high: a ten-person business at £70 per user is £700 a month. The same ten computers on our per-device pricing is £240. If every member of staff genuinely has multiple devices and a heavily managed mailbox, per-user can be fair value. If they have each got one PC, you are paying for a pricing model rather than a service.
What changes the price
Two businesses with ten staff can get quotes hundreds apart, and both be fair. What moves the number:
Number of computers. The single biggest factor, and the reason any quote given before someone has counted your machines is guesswork.
Servers on site. A physical server needs monitoring, patching, backup and a disaster recovery plan. Businesses running entirely in Microsoft 365 with no on-premise server pay noticeably less.
Compliance requirements. Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, GDPR-heavy sectors and Ofsted-regulated settings all add work — evidence gathering, policy documentation, tighter controls, annual audits.
Out of hours cover. Standard contracts run business hours. Evenings, weekends and 24/7 are priced on top. Care homes, children’s homes and hospitality genuinely need it. Most offices do not.
Site visits. Remote-first support is cheaper. Regular on-site presence is built into the fee.
Age of your kit. Old hardware breaks more and takes longer to fix. Some providers quietly load the price for it. We would rather tell you which machines are the problem.
What should be included in a monthly contract
If you are paying a fixed monthly fee, all of this should be inside it rather than billed extra:
- Remote helpdesk support for your staff, with no per-ticket charge
- Proactive monitoring of machines and servers
- Security patching and operating system updates
- Managed antivirus and endpoint protection
- Microsoft 365 administration — accounts, licences, permissions, leavers and joiners
- Email security and spam filtering
- Backup, with restores actually tested rather than assumed
- An asset register: a live list of what you own and when it needs replacing
- A regular review where someone tells you what is coming
If a quote excludes several of these, it is not cheaper. It is smaller.
The hidden costs to watch for
Onboarding fees. Some providers charge several hundred pounds to take you on. Ask up front. We do not.
Per-ticket charges on top of a monthly fee. This defeats the point of fixed pricing and teaches staff not to report problems.
Microsoft 365 licences billed at a markup. Ask whether licences are at cost or marked up, and by how much.
Exit terms. How much notice — and critically, do you get your data, documentation and admin credentials handed over cleanly? Get that in writing before you sign, not when you are leaving.
Contract length. Twelve months is normal and reasonable. Three-year lock-ins on a small business contract are worth questioning hard.
“Unlimited” support with a fair use policy. Read what the fair use limit actually is.
Is it cheaper to hire someone in-house?
The honest comparison for a business of fifteen to twenty staff:
| In-house IT person | Full support contract (20 PCs) | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary or fee | £32,000–£42,000 | £5,760/year (£480/month + VAT) |
| Employer NI and pension | ~£5,000 | Included |
| Recruitment | £3,000–£6,000 one-off | None |
| Holiday and sickness cover | Uncovered, or agency rates | Included |
| Out of hours | Overtime, or nobody | Contracted |
| Breadth of skill | One person’s knowledge | A team’s |
| Monitoring and helpdesk tooling | £2,000–£4,000/year | Included |
An in-house hire starts to make clear sense somewhere around 25–40 staff, or earlier if your IT is genuinely specialised. Below that the sums rarely work, and the single-point-of-failure risk is real — when your one IT person is on holiday, you have no IT person. Plenty of businesses land on a hybrid: someone internal for day-to-day, with a contract behind them for depth and cover.
How to compare quotes fairly
Ask every provider the same five questions and the differences become obvious:
- Is this priced per user or per computer, and what counts as one? A member of staff with a laptop and a phone — once or twice?
- What is explicitly not included? Get the exclusions in writing.
- Is labour included, or charged on top? This is the big one. A low monthly fee with hourly labour on top can easily cost more than a higher all-inclusive fee.
- Are Microsoft 365 licences included, at cost, or marked up?
- What are the exit terms, and what do I get back?
Then compare the annual figure, not the monthly one. And ask them to quote for a realistic year of support, not a perfect one.
Frequently asked questions
How much does IT support cost per month?
UK small businesses typically pay £40–£150 per user per month, or £20–£45 per computer. We charge £24 per computer + VAT for full support with labour included, minimum five computers — so £120 + VAT for a five-computer business.
How much does IT support cost per hour?
UK rates run £75–£120 per hour. We charge £90 + VAT for ad-hoc work with no contract, or £60 + VAT for clients on a monitoring contract. Clients on full support pay nothing hourly — labour is included.
What is fixed price IT support?
A set monthly fee covering agreed services regardless of how many issues arise, so costs are predictable and your provider is motivated to prevent problems rather than bill for them. Our full support contract is fixed price at £24 per computer + VAT.
What are the main IT support pricing models in the UK?
Five: pay as you go by the hour, pre-purchased block hours, monitoring-only with discounted labour, per computer per month all-inclusive, and per user per month. Per user is most common among national providers; per computer is usually better value for small businesses.
How much should a small business pay for IT support?
As a sense check, £20–£45 per computer per month all-inclusive, or £60–£80 per user. Significantly below that usually means labour is charged separately. Significantly above usually means compliance work, servers, or out-of-hours cover.
Is IT support charged per user or per computer?
Both models exist. Per user suits businesses where each person has several devices. Per computer — how we price — suits most small businesses, and is markedly cheaper where machines are shared between staff or shifts.
How much does managed IT support cost in the UK?
Managed support bundling monitoring, patching, helpdesk and security under one fee typically costs £60–£80 per user per month, or £20–£45 per computer. Ours is £24 per computer + VAT, all labour included.
What is included in a monthly IT support package?
It should include remote helpdesk, monitoring, patching, antivirus, Microsoft 365 administration, email security, tested backups, an asset register and regular reviews. Anything missing should be questioned.
Do IT support costs include hardware?
No. Support contracts cover looking after equipment, not buying it. Some providers offer hardware on monthly lease, which spreads the cost but usually works out dearer overall.
Can I get IT support without a contract?
Yes. We charge £90 per hour + VAT for ad-hoc work with no contract and no minimum. There is no priority response on that basis, and no monitoring — so if you need help more than about an hour a month, a contract costs less.
What does a monitoring contract actually do?
For £13 per computer + VAT you get remote monitoring of hardware and software, weekly automated maintenance run on every machine, priority response ahead of ad-hoc callers, and a reduced labour rate of £60 per hour instead of £90. It is aimed at catching problems — failing drives, software drifting out of date, performance decline — before they stop someone working.
Is there a minimum number of computers?
Full support has a five-computer minimum. Monitoring and ad-hoc work have no minimum.
Getting a real number for your business
Ranges only get you so far. Tell us how many computers you have, whether there is a server, and whether you have compliance requirements, and we will come back with a fixed monthly figure and a clear list of what is in it.
We are in Leeds and support businesses across the UK, including outsourced IT support for companies with no internal IT, managed IT services, IT support in Leeds, and sector work for accountancy practices and children’s homes.
